• Thailand have won only one of the 11 World Grand Prix matches they have played in Hong Kong.

• It was only Italy’s second straight-sets win in their last 12 World Grand Prix matches.

• It was Italy’s seventh straight victory over Thailand in the World Grand Prix.

• Onuma Sittirak was the top scorer in the match with 17 points; the next best Thai, Wilavan Apinyapong, had seven points.

• Nadia Centoni and Caterina Bosetti led Italy with 12 points apiece.

• Italy dominated the Thais in blocking points (12-1) and had a 6-3 edge in serving.

Both teams started off the match with a series of aggressive attacks. Italy took an early 8-5 lead in the first set before the first technical timeout before Thailand lost their momentum, allowing their opponents to widen the gap to 13-8. The powerful spikes of Italy’s Valentina Diouf disrupted Thailand’s attempts to fight back. Italy continued with an easy lead and sealed the first set 25-19.

Thailand took the lead for the first time in the match early in the second set, moving 3-1 ahead. Italy came back with Valentina Arrighetti’s attacks and solid blocks, putting the team in front at 8-5. Even though Italy were leading 16-8 at the second technical timeout, Thailand fought back aggressively and reduced the gap to within three points. Italy, with a more consistent overall performance, won the second set 25-21.

In the third set, Thailand maintained good team spirit and used quicker attacks and attacks from the back, resulting in an 8-6 lead. Tapaphaipun Chaisri and Onuma Sittirak’s remarkable attacks widened Thailand’s lead to 16-11. Italy came up quickly with three straight points, eventually closing the gap to 16-17 and forcing Thailand to call two timeouts. Both teams were very strong throughout the decisive set and Italy ended the breath-taking see-saw battle 25-23.

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